Pew study shows the democratization of the smartphone

Forty-six percent of American adults now own smartphones, with the most growth …

The percentage of smartphone owners is growing closer to the 50 percent mark, according to a new study from the Pew Research Center. Forty-six percent of American adults now have smartphones, with growth in several areas that show increasing democratization in ownership.

Smartphones saw more growth among women than men, with 44 percent of women owning smartphones, up from 31 percent in May 2011, compared to men's growth from 39 to 49 percent. The survey also showed more growth in the lowest income category of less than $30,000 than in any other, with 34 percent of respondents in that bracket saying they owned a smartphone, up from 22 percent last May. The second-largest ownership jump was in the $50,000-$74,999 income bracket, going from 38 to 49 percent. Smartphones are still the most common among those who make at least $75,000 a year, with ownership increasing from 59 to 68 percent.

The study showed that black and Hispanic respondents were more likely to have smartphones than average at 49 percent ownership. White, non-Hispanic respondents showed the most growth, from 30 percent to 45 percent. In terms of geography, rural smartphone ownership grew the most from 21 to 34 percent, followed by urban smartphone owners, who went from 38 to 50 percent ownership.

When asked about their smartphone OS, 20 percent of respondents said they had Android phones, up from 15 percent in May 2011. Nineteen percent were iPhone owners, up from 10 percent, while BlackBerry ownership dropped from 10 to 6 percent.

All that said, there was some uncertainty among respondents about what a smartphone actually is. In total, 45 percent of cell phone owners reported that their phone is a smartphone, while 49 percent say their phones "have a smartphone operating system"; when those numbers are taken together, Pew says, 53 percent of of cell owners have smartphones. Unfortunately, some confusion remains among the general American public about what is and is not a smartphone, as 8 percent of respondents said they didn't know if their phone was a smartphone or not, down from the confusion rate of 14 percent in May 2011.